


Accidents Happen

by dragonshitlavellan



Series: Happier Endings [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friendship, Jealousy, Multi, Romance, Sappy Shit, au later on, definitely just self-indulgent self-inserting, definitely smut, don't really have a clear direction i'm taking this, for sure, hopefully smut, make me keep writing to get to the smut, only here to have fun, probably just smut with plot, trying to represent people of all kinds, using a lot of headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 09:40:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9229070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonshitlavellan/pseuds/dragonshitlavellan
Summary: Three modern school friends are involved in a car crash but wake up in bed at Hogwarts in 1975.





	1. Accidents Happen

#  Chapter 1: Accidents Happen

The Mini sailed down the country road, music pouring out of the open windows and into the summer air. Three voices joined the music.

“Living easy, living free

Season ticket on a one-way ride

Asking nothing, leave me be

Taking everything in my stride

Don't need reason, don't need rhyme

Ain't nothing I would rather do

Going down, party time

My friends are gonna be there too”

Three girls were in the car, two obviously intoxicated, the driver, luckily, seemed unaffected. 

“I'm on the highway to hell

On the highway to hell

Highway to hell

I'm on the highway to hell”

The girls all laughed. The one in the backseat, a plump girl with wild brown curls, stuck her torso out the window, practically screaming, bottle in hand.

“No stop signs, speed limit

Nobody's gonna slow me down

Like a wheel, gonna spin it”

The car went around a bend in the winding country road, far too fast, and flipped, careening over a small cliff and into a creek. The brunette had been ejected and had only seen black as she heard her friends scream her name.

Dawn gasped for breath as she shot up in bed. She was dripping with sweat from head to toe and couldn’t see anything in the pitch black night.

“Dawn! What’s the matter?” a voice called from inside her bedroom. Dawn scrunched up her face and made to turn on her bedside lamp, but was met with a heavy curtain. The curtain was quickly pulled back, allowing the full moon’s light to illuminate a girl from behind. 

“Where am I?”

The girl shifted back slightly.

“You’re at school, in Gryffindor tower. Must have been some nightmare,” the girl tried to joke, but was obviously worried.

“I’m at Hogwarts? But, I can’t be...” Dawn was scrambling to put her thoughts right. Last she had known, magic was an illusion and Hogwarts was just a place in her books. She pinched her leg discreetly. Ouch, definitely not a dream.

“Would you like me to take you to McGonagall or Dumbledore?” the girl asked warily. Dawn didn’t recognize her voice so she assumed that she wasn’t a character that had made it into the movies a whole lot, or the “actual” people didn’t look or sound like their actors. She definitely wasn’t in the next gen’s Hogwarts, since Dumbledore was apparently alive.

“Lily, what’s happened?” A sleepy voice called from the other side of the room.

“Go back to sleep Marlene,” Lily responded. Oh hell yes. The Marauder’s Era! If this was actually a dream, this was the best dream ever.

“Lily, please get me to the Headmaster. I need to speak to him as soon as possible,” worry made it into her voice as she remembered the car accident. She had been driving her friends home from a house party, back to hers since their parents were very strict and would have ripped them apart if they came home so late.

“Come on, luckily I know his password,” Lily had sent her owl out hurriedly, probably to fetch the headmaster. 

Dawn followed Lily down the stairs and through the common room. She had to force herself not to stop and gawk around the beautiful room, lit by several smoldering fireplaces. The girls hurried through cold corridors and down shifting staircases until they met the grand eagle statue.

“Ghastly Ganache,” Lily said. The eagle moved to reveal a winding staircase. LIly dragged Dawn up quickly. They reached a grand door and Lily knocked feverishly, casting worried glances back to her friend. Why had she asked for the Headmaster, and why did she look so sick?

“Miss Evans, Miss Walsh, come in,” the kind voice of Albus Dumbledore called. He was sitting at his desk as if he hadn’t even gone to sleep yet, though it was reaching 1:00. 

“Lily was just bringing me here, Professor. I’m afraid what I have to tell you is very personal,” Dawn decided not to beat around the bush, though that had seemed to hurt Lily’s feelings. She sent an apologetic look to the redhead. 

“Of course, thank you, Miss Evans,” Dumbledore dismissed her, eyeing Dawn carefully. 

Once Lily was definitely out of earshot, Dawn squirmed under the Headmaster’s probing gaze.

“I have no idea how to start, Headmaster.”

“The beginning is usually a good place.”

“I just don’t know which beginning is real though sir,” at that, the Headmaster gestured for Dawn to sit.  “I don’t remember starting at Hogwarts. In fact, Hogwarts has only been fiction to me, until fifteen minutes ago, when I woke up here. I was driving and I lost control of my car and wrecked, and then I was gasping for breath in Gryffindor tower.”

“I see, that is quite confusing, as you have been quite a personality here at Hogwarts. Good grades, lots of friends, and second up for Gryffindor prefect…”

“Behind Lily,” she responded, remembering reading she was Head Girl in her seventh year. “How long have I been at Hogwarts? Who are my friends?”

“You’re in your fifth year, your friends are Lily, Marlene McKinnon, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Ellen Jones, and Grace Connors.”

Dawn let out a rush of air. Her friends were here, she hadn’t killed them.

“We need to get Ellen and Grace, they were in the car with me.”

“We’ll retrieve them in the morni-”

“No, they’ll be scared and confused, I definitely am, please!”

“Alright, I will escort you to their houses.” Dumbledore stood and swept across the room in his blue robes. Dawn followed closely behind. They went first to a stack of barrels where Dumbledore tapped one five times before a corridor appeared. They made their way down the sloped, earthen corridor before emerging into a warm room, filled with plants and comfy places to sit and study. Two corridors were opposite them and they took the one on the left and went in the fifth door. The girls in the dorm were all awake, standing around a confused Ellen. Dawn pushed past the other girls gently to gather her best friend into her arms.

“We’re alright,” she whispered into her wild brown curls. Ellen clutched at Dawn’s pajamas as Dumbledore made some excuse for their behavior and bundled the two out of the Hufflepuff burrow. They arrived at Ravenclaw tower to find Grace waiting for them in an armchair near the entrance. She rushed to her friends and they both ran their hands over her hair.  

“Alright you three, now I’d like to know what you remember about our world, since you apparently aren’t the girls who have been in this school for five years,” Dumbledore fixed them with a curious look.

“We’re only fifth years?” Ellen sounded angry.

“How old are you ‘really’,” Grace laughed at his air quotes.

“We’re 25, so this puts us back quite a bit,” Grace answered, trying not to be obvious about checking her friends’ bodies. Sure enough, they looked just like they had when they were 15 in school together.

“Professor, I’m sorry, but I don’t think it would be appropriate for us to tell you what we know. The books we read were set in 1991-1997,” Dawn answered the old man’s original question. 

“We can try to tell you about the past…?”Ellen suggested.

“What from the past?”Dumbledore sounded skeptical.

“Well, obviously not something well known. You were close with Grindewald, closer than many suspect,” Grace offered the first thing that came to mind. 

“Anything else?” His expression was guarded.

“Your brother blames you for your sister’s death,” Ellen said as gently as possible.

“There’s a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets,” Dawn blurted.

“Alright, you’ve convinced me. I have no idea how this happened, but for now, I think you girls should go back to bed. I will call you all again when I’ve figured something out.” Dumbledore made to leave, but Dawn grasped his sleeve.

“What do you mean professor?”

“I assume you would like to go back to your own world… Am I wrong?”

“We still have our families here right? Are we all Muggleborn?” Ellen inquired.

“Well, you and Miss Walsh are. Miss Connors is a half-blood.”

“My father?” Grace asked. Dumbledore nodded. “He read the books to me. Neither of Dawn’s or Ellen’s ever read the books. It’s a joke among people who’ve read them that we’re all wizards and anyone who hasn’t is a Muggle.”

“Well, what a twist of fate. Now, bed, all of you. I trust you can find your Houses. Hopefully, you have some innate knowledge, it wouldn’t do for you all to suddenly start failing your classes,” he said before practically floating away.

The three friends all looked at each other for a moment before Ellen gathered the other two into her arms.

“I’m so glad we’re alive,” she breathed. Dawn tightened her hold on her friends.

“I’m so sorry, you guys. I didn’t mean to wreck,” Dawn cried.

“Shhh, it’s alright. I was being an idiot, I distracted you,” Grace pulled the shorter girls into her.

They argued for a while more over who was at fault before Ellen’s slight snore brought them back and they all went their separate ways. Dawn was on her way back to Gryffindor castle when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a tapestry of a troll. She could barely let out a yelp before a hand was clamped over her mouth. She looked around in the dark before someone’s wand lit the night. Three boys looked back at her, one hazel eyed and messy haired, another gray-eyed and smirking, and the last shifty-eyed and blond. She tore James Potter’s hand from her mouth.

“Honestly, James, can’t you just say hello like a normal person. I thought I was getting abducted!” She tried to sound angry but for some reason couldn’t hide her smirk.

“It worked, Dawn! We were with him the whole night! You three can come next time, with six of us, we may even get him to sleep some!” the boy replied.

“What are you doing out of bed, Walsh?” Sirius Black had her fixed with a strange stare.

“Bad dreams, I woke up Lily and then went down to see Grace and Ellen. You know how our flower is without her beauty sleep,” Dawn was a bit worried about how easily information on her “friends” was coming out of her mouth. She had only read about these people, but now it was like she had been with them constantly for years, which apparently, some iteration of her had. And apparently, this iteration had become an Animagus with the non-moony Marauders. The boys were grimacing at the thought of a sleep deprived Lily Evans as they corralled Dawn towards the tower and through the Fat Lady’s portrait. Dawn was still deep in thought as she parted ways with her friends and climbed to her dormitory. She fell into bed, glad to see that Lily was soundly asleep, even after her friend’s urgent visit with the headmaster. Dawn found sleep quickly and hoped that her friends had been as lucky.

* * *

 

Grace’s mind was spinning. She had never been religious so she was pretty sure this wasn’t an afterlife like heaven, but it was probably one of some sort since Ellen was there and there was no way Ellen had survived flying out of the car at that speed. So were they in some strange alternate universe? It made sense. She was pretty sure it wasn't a dream. She'd punched her leg so many times she was sure to have a bruise in the morning and the more she thought about it, the more she remembered about her classes and her friends. The freaking Marauders to be exact, things she was pretty sure she hadn't just read. Like how everyone wanted Peter to ask Ellen out or how Sirius’s womanizing was exhausting to no end. And something else. She remembered her body changing and going all fuzzy. She was an animagus! And tonight had been a full moon! Was she supposed to be with Remus right now? No, they had all just perfected their forms, and the boys had gone without them to test it out. Honestly, she thought only Peter, who was a rat, and Ellen, a hedgehog, should have gone. They were small and could get away, while Sirius’s large dog form and James’s ridiculous stag antlers would get in the way. She knew that they were supposed to have survived, being familiar with Harry Potter’s storyline, but the girls were not in the series so anything could happen now. Anything. Could they stop James and Lily’s deaths? Could they save young Harry from being an orphan? The better question was, should they? The friends would have to have a talk about this soon, but the main problems were years away, so they could just get their bearings for now. 

* * *

 

Ellen flopped back into her bed, waving off Alice, who had stayed awake to make sure her friend was okay.

“I’m fine, just had a nightmare. Apparently, Dawn and Grace had too, some sort of weird Divination thing. Trelawney wasn’t much help.” Ellen explained the best she could, just wanting to sleep and hopefully remember more about her years at Hogwarts.

“If you say so. But you need to keep an eye on it, Divination is not something to be taken lightly, Ellen.”

“It wasn’t a big deal. Dumbledore even said so,” Ellen pulled her bed hangings closed, ending the conversation. 

So much had happened in the last half hour. Her entire world had changed. She had, presumably died, and now she had traveled through time, and whatever separated universes, to appear in a fictional world in 1975. She felt some trepidation as to whether this was real or not, but it seemed real enough to her. She heaved a great sigh and rolled over, trying not to give things much thought so she could catch some sleep. She would think more about things in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know how you like it so far with a comment! I've got one more full chapter and I'm working on the next, so you'll probably be getting another chapter as soon as I've finished the one after it. Be patient with me on updating, I'm about to move and I'm taking a trial semester of college. Also, I'd love predictions on who ends up with who, even though I've already decided.


	2. Let's Get Physical

_ Dawn gasped as a warm hand slipped under the back of her shirt. She turned, meeting brown eyes. They were smiling down on her as she quirked her lips and leaned up to meet James’s smiling lips. _

“James?” she questioned sleepily as she woke.

“Please keep your wet dreams to yourself, Dawn. Not everyone is attracted to that toerag,” Lily sounded disgusted at her friend.

This was wrong, so very wrong. Dawn sat up and looked around the room to see Marlene and Mary gone, and Lily dressed and ready for class.

“Get ready quick, or you’ll miss breakfast,” Lily threw the warning over her shoulder as she shut the door behind her.

Dawn groaned and hurriedly dressed and brushed her teeth, deciding a relaxed ponytail would do for the day. As she power walked to the Great Hall she picked up a similarly ragged pair, Ellen and Grace. They all ate breakfast at the Gryffindor table, Dawn seated by James, who was a little too happy to see her in her opinion. As she ate quietly with her otherworldly friends, she felt a hand on her knee. Turning to James she saw his eyes, set on Lily, flick to herself before he smiled and kissed her cheek, just as the redhead turned towards Ellen, therefore catching the PDA.

“Get a room you two. I don’t want to be sick this early in the morning,” she scoffed.

The plan came rushing back to Dawn suddenly. She was dating James to try and get Lily out of his system or to at least make her jealous enough to realize she liked him. Dawn quickly put on a sickly sweet smile before kissing James tenderly. They were apparently really good friends, and while there weren’t very strong romantic feelings on either end, they had fun together. She heard another gag, this time coming from the other side of James. She leaned around her “boyfriend” and saw Sirius rolling his eyes.

“I really didn’t expect you two to take it so seriously when I said you two should get together,” he groaned.

_ “Thank you James, you’re awesome,” Dawn complimented him as he handed her a rather heavy book which had been too high on the shelf for her to reach. _

_ “No problem. Can’t leave a good girl hanging,” he laughed and slung his arm around her shoulders. _

_ “Just kiss already,” Remus joked, rolling his eyes playfully.  _

_ The two friends looked at eachother before pecking on the lips chastely. _

_ “Oi, take her to Hogsmeade first!” Sirius continued the joke.“Make an honest woman of her!” _

_ They looked at eachother again. _

_ “It is Hogsmeade this weekend. You wanna?” Dawn looked up at James, waiting for his answer. _

_ “Yeah, okay, maybe I can get Lily off my mind,” he shrugged. Dawn was surprised, he was usually so against going out with anyone, wanting to stay ‘pure’ for ‘Lilykins.’ _

_ “Great, meet in the common room at 11:00?” _

_ “Perfect,” James smiled, pecking her again. _

_ The other two boys (Peter was with Ellen and Grace waiting for Dawn and the book) looked on in shock. _

“We take everything seriously when it’s coming from someone so Sirius,” Dawn smirked to him, leaning gently into James’s side. The boy was thin, but he put off a lot of heat, which was nice, apparently it was December.

Sirius rolled his eyes, laughing, and breakfast continued with relatively inane discussions of studying and quidditch.

* * *

 

“This is really weird, I thought James had been so obsessed with Lily he never had another girl,” Ellen whispered to Grace as they walked behind Dawn and James, who were heading to class, hand in hand, Sirius walking on James’s other side. 

“Well, we never knew for sure, plus, knowing Dawn, this could be an FwB situation.”

“What’s an ‘FwB’?” Lily asked, suddenly popping up behind them. Both girls jumped and sent glares to their redheaded friend.

“A friend with benefits, a fuck buddy, a friend you-” 

“Okay, I get it,” Lily cut Grace off. “You really think so? They’re even holding hands all the time.”

“Yeah, but we all know how much Dawn likes physical contact,” Ellen rationalized.

The other girls nodded and continued to Potions, watching their three friends’s easy conversation about the upcoming holiday.

* * *

 

Remus was walking with Peter and Marlene, behind Ellen, Grace, and Lily. The full moon hadn’t been as hard with his friends with him and he had felt up to classes, much to Pomfrey’s chagrin. He was excited to have the girls with him next month, since the boys had done so wonderfully in keeping his furry little problem under control and entertained. He did however, feel awful for nearly eating Peter, but felt better knowing that James and Sirius had been able to convince him the rat was friend, not food. He sighed, pushing away those thoughts and instead focused on the swaying hips of Grace. He didn’t know what she did to her skirts, when she stood still they seemed just like any other girl’s, but as soon as she started moving, it swished tantalisingly through the air. It drove him crazy, seeing her long, dark legs move so confidently from under the blasted fabric. He snapped himself out of it, remembering Marlene was walking right beside him and thinking she may not like a boy blatantly checking out one of her friends. He didn’t have to worry though, she was ogling as well, he just couldn’t tell who. He assumed Sirius, as he seemed the only appropriate ogling object for her, as he knew they had fooled around a bit last year. He looked to Peter, seeing that he was also preoccupied, with Ellen’s skirt. The boy had it bad and was too scared to do anything about it. Remus honestly wondered why he was in Gryffindor sometimes and not Hufflepuff. He was extremely kind and loyal, but seemed to have the courage of his animagus form. Merlin, they were all such pervs, staring at the arses of their  friends.

* * *

 

Dawn was leaning against James’s shoulder in the common room after classes had ended.

“I think our plan may be working,” she whispered into his ear, trying to make it seem like she was trying to seduce him. 

Lily glared at them from across the room. She was trying, and failing to finish up some homework. James grinned and turned, capturing Dawn’s lips with his. She smiled into the kiss and playfully nipped his upper lip, bumping their noses gently. James laughed and buried his head into her neck.

“Please don’t just get my hopes up,” he laughed quietly.

“No, really, she’s been reading the same page for 20 minutes. She can’t stop looking at us, and we’ve only just kissed since coming in.”

James hummed against her skin and moved his hand higher on her thigh lazily. He was getting into his sleepy, a little too forward, can’t find the energy to get excited, even about Lily Evans state. Dawn sighed and stood, dragging her up with him.

“Come on, Prongs, let’s get you up to bed,” she smiled at the double entendre and snuck a look at Lily as she heard a quill snap. The poor girl’s face was the same colour as her hair and Dawn could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. Lily had never liked James hanging out with girls, but she had always had his attention above anyone else, but now it seemed she barely existed to him anymore. She couldn’t stand watching Dawn drag the happy boy up to his dormitory, thinking of what they might do in there.

_ Dawn opened the door to the boy’s dorm quickly, tumbling in with James hot on her heels, only to see a very naked Sirius Black and Sarah Marshall in the middle of the floor. _

_ “Honestly, at least get to the bed, two more steps and you would have made it,” Dawn guffawed. Sarah shot her a dirty look but had the decency to look a bit embarrassed. Sirius on the other hand, he had his hands behind his head, quite happy with the view of Dawn’s over the knee socks. Why did the girls insist on wearing robes over such sexy uniforms. _

Dawn arrived at the boy’s room to find Sirius lounging on his bed. He hadn’t had a girl in a week, so he was due one soon. She was just glad that it seemed she wouldn’t have cause for unplanned trips up here soon, so she couldn’t walk in on anything else.

“You guys going to have sex finally?”

“If you’re lucky,” Dawn teased him, pushing James into his bed. Sirius quirked an eyebrow as she removed his shoes and tie.

“Well if he’s unconscious, I’m going to have to report you,” he said.

“No sex. He was asleep before I got him off the couch. I will, however, need a favor from you.”

“Always happy to put a new notch on my bedpost,” Sirius smirked at her. Dawn scrunched her nose before laughing softly.

“Not of that kind, I can do that on my own, for now. I need you to muss me up, like I’ve had sex with James. Lilykins is so close to breaking, we’ve got like two weeks max before she blows her top. I’m so glad she has such a short fuse,” Dawn was already taking off her tie and buttoning her shirt wrong. Sirius was a little preoccupied with his own mental images.

“Not taking to James’s charms then? You guys have been so convincing from the first kiss.”

“It’s not that. We have fun, but there’s nothing more than that. I don’t think I could do anything under the waist with him. It just seems so wrong after knowing how he feels about Lily and after being friends with him for so long,” she scrunched her face, obviously uncomfortable with thinking of actually shagging James.

Sirius laughed and strode over to her, taking in her already slightly rumpled appearance. He sunk his hands into her hair and wildly tossed it around.

“Ah! I didn’t ask for a noogie. Be gentle with me,” Dawn cried, slightly annoyed, though she knew he could hear the laugh in her tone.

Sirius took a step back and assessed her.

“Close your eyes.”

She raised a brow suspiciously before conceding. He dipped his thumb in a glass of water by his bed and smudged at her mascara, moving down to her pink lipstick and smearing it slightly all around, giving her one really big smudge.

“You want a love bite, just for good measure,” Sirius snapped his teeth at her playfully. She snapped back, and shook her head.

“We’re the biters, not James,” she laughed.

_ “Sirius! You’ve done it!” James jumped for joy as he saw the giant black dog in front of him. It wagged it’s tail and barked, tongue lolling out of it’s mouth. _

_ Dawn sniffed primly, not wanting to be outdone in something that she had helped Sirius with personally. She quickly turned on the spot and the next second she was replaced by a sandy grey fox. She yipped at James and put her paws on his leg. _

_ “You too Dawn! Wow! You guys are amazing!” James knelt and pet both of his friends affectionately. Sirius growled lowly at Dawn and she snapped at his muzzle. Luckily, they couldn’t keep form long enough to get into a real fight, and their rational, fully human minds figured out how silly they were being before they could get into a duel. _

Sirius laughed before kneeling before her, untucking her shirt a bit on his way down, and fussing with her skirt. He pulled down one of her thigh-high socks, earning a playful mean look, and untied her shoes.

“There we go, freshly shagged chic,” Sirius tapped her nose and she snapped at his retreating finger playfully.

“Thanks Sirius, I owe you one. Well, James does, but you know I usually have to pay his way, rich bastard,” Dawn was leaving the room as she tossed this over her shoulder.

“Where are you going? That wasn’t nearly enough time for a proper shag, I can’t have you making everyone think James only lasts 30 seconds,” Sirius stopped her. 

“Why not? I mean, this is his first time,” Dawn joked.

“Not yours?” Sirius prodded.

“Haha, nope! I’m a very popular girl, Mr. Man-Whore,” she teased.

Sirius smirked as he flopped back onto his bed. 

“Who was it then?”

“Amos Diggory, last day of last year,” she grinned as she sat on Remus’s bed, across from Sirius. “Who was yours?”

“Marlene, beginning of fourth year.”

“Ah, I bet she was good. If I were to try a girl, it’d be her,” Dawn had to laugh at Sirius’s expression.

“Can I watch?”

“Hold your horses! I didn’t say it was going to happen, you voyeuristic perv,” Dawn threw a pillow at his gaping face.

“But, if it does?”

“I’ll ask her about it.”

“You’re the best friend a guy could ask for!” Sirius launched himself at her and tackled her into the mattress, slightly smothering her with his chest anad shoulders. 

“OI, get off, I can’t go down there smelling like wet dog,” she laughed, pushing him off playfully. “Oh, does James have some after-shave or cologne?”

“Yeah, good idea! I’ll go get it,” SIrius disappeared into the bathroom and came back with a bottle.

“Thanks, lemme just find a t-shirt.” Dawn stood and dug in James’s trunk, pulling out a relatively clean shirt before spraying it with the cologne and rubbing it on her pulse points.

“I think you’re all ready. A respectable, but not unbelievable 15 minutes,” Sirius said as he surveyed her. Damn she looked good like that, big hazel eyes surrounded by smudgy black, full lips made fuller, brown hair creating a sultry halo in the warm lighting of the room. Plus, she had more skin exposed than he thought he’d ever seen on her.

“Alright, I’m off then. No time for cuddling, we’ve got exams coming up,” she joked as she exited the room. “You should study too, unless you’re too busy helping other girls look shagalicious.”

“Always too busy to study, never too busy for you, dear,” he joked.

“I’ll keep that in mind, maybe after holidays I’ll take you up on that,”she winked before she closed the door behind her.

* * *

 

Sirius laid back on his bed again. James had no idea how lucky he was. Dawn was one of the two fittest girls in school. Marlene was the most widely desired and traditionally sexy, but Dawn’s doe eyes beat Marlene’s bedroom eyes any day for Sirius. They showed how kind she was to everyone she knew and were always there to give compassion, not pity, if someone wanted to talk. He sighed as he thought about it. He didn’t feel guilty, knowing that nothing would progress in her relationship with James, they were just good friends who thought of kissing as a hobby they happened to do together. They had always been free with physical affection, ever since they became close in second year, when Dawn, Ellen, and Grace figured out Remus’s furry little problem. The two had been freely leaning on each other and cuddling in the common room ever since. Sirius thought it may be a spoiled only child thing, since they were so used to getting physical affection from their parents and were suddenly without it for most of the year. 

His own dalliances had always been purely physical, and never just innocent touching. He wondered how it would be to be with someone as casually touchy as Dawn. He did reciprocate her free touches, as she was very physical with all of her friends, but she seemed less so with him. She had even explained to him once that it was because she could guess at the kind of treatment he got at home, so she thought he may not be okay with the sheer amount of physicality she brought into a friendship. He craved it though. Being neglected and abused hadn’t made him opposed to gentle touches, rather, it made him notice how much he wanted them. He sighed and cracked open his potions book. She was right, he needed to study.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the couplings are probably obvious. I hate doing the whole teasing back and forth thing. I just want the smut and fluff. I'm not in it for the angst. Leave me a comment to lemme know your coupling guesses and maybe some kink suggestions/guesses cuz I'm always down for looking into a new kink. There probably won't be any ddlg though so, just a heads up. I'm really not into that. If you are, more power to you, I'm not trying to kinkshame you, but I'm not very comfortable with it. Next chapter is not finished, but I just got settled into my new place and wanted to post since we got 50 hits! No comments yet, but we'll get there.


	3. Things are Brewing

Ellen could feel someone staring at her butt. It was her second day at Hogwarts after the accident, and she was headed to the library with Remus, Dawn, and Peter. While she loved Dawn, she was pretty sure she had it bad for someone. She just couldn't find out who, as it wasn't for James. She had seen enough of Dawn's flings in both worlds to know that the girl just loved kissing,  _a lot_. She also knew Grace had always had a thing for Remus as a character, so she hoped it wasn't Remus. That left Peter, which gave her extremely mixed feelings. Hogwarts Ellen had always thought Peter's stuttering was endearing and that he was smarter than he let on. Muggle Ellen, however, had hated him for betraying his friends in the worst way possible. She was a Hufflepuff after all, and loyalty was everything to her. She sighed, looking at the ceiling for a moment, trying to reconcile the two lives in her head. She felt someone grab her hand, recognizing it as one of her sisters in misplacement. They should start a secret club or something. Dawn smiled warmly at her, pulling her closer and throwing her arm around Ellen's shoulder.

"Pete is totally ogling you. You gonna go for him?" She whispered.

"I don't know. School me wants to but other me doesn't because of what's going to happen," Ellen answered.

"I think, we need to forget about what happened in the books-"

"What books?"

Both girls jumped as Remus spoke.

"Oh, nothing, we're just reading this romance series together," Dawn spoke.

"Yeah, Dawn isn't super happy with the ending, so just wants to forget about the ending," Ellen finished. Dawn was surprised she had lied so easily.

"The author put the protagonist with the wrong love interest!!" Dawn decided to play the part of anguished reader up.

"Okay, nerds," Remus snarked.

Ellen huffed in mock annoyance as they turned into the library.

~~~

Peter didn't know what to feel. All of his friends had been falling for girls, and some guys, since third year. He had yet to see anyone the way they seemed to. He had stared at girl's "sexiest" parts for what seemed hours, but he didn't quite get the appeal. Sure, some people were more pleasing, aesthetically, and some people were fun to be around. Hell, he hung out with some of the prettiest and most personable people in the year, yet he had no desire to have anyone as more than his friend. Did that make him strange? Was there something wrong with him? Was he repulsive, and so repulsive in fact that even he couldn't imagine himself being with someone? The Marauders had all told him to try with Ellen. She was pretty, and sweet, and available. So, why didn't he want to pursue her for himself?

~~~

Ellen couldn't focus on her studies. She was too preoccupied with her thoughts of Peter and her conflicting feelings. She might be making up the whole thing, but he always seemed to be watching her. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not, even without her doubts on his loyalty. She had never been in a relationship, never had a real crush, just girl crushes on her classmates. God, why did she still have to deal with this, and with 15-year-old hormones again! She didn't know if she could trust her feelings or if it was just her changing body talking. She huffed and slammed her Potions book shut, startling her companions.

"I'm going to the Great Hall. It's too quiet in here, it's maddening," she proclaimed.

~~~

Her friends watched as she left. Once she was out, Remus nudged Peter, encouraging him to follow the girl. He did, glancing back at his friends for reassurance. Their smiles bolstered him, but also drove him mad. He didn't want to ask her out! He just wanted to get his studying done so they could all plan a prank or eat Transfig Taffy and play chess. He went to the Great Hall anyway. He sat by Ellen at the Hufflepuff table.

"Ellen, I have to ask you something," he probed, gauging her reaction.

"Yes, Peter?" she looked to him.

"Wouldyouwanttogoonadatewithme?" he rushed through the sentence.

"Say again?"

Peter sighed and clammed up. Ellen processed what had been said slowly, realization visibly spreading across her.

"I don't know, Peter," she sighed.

That was not what he was expecting. A strange mix of relief and regret spread through him.

"Okay, I understand," his words were stilted.

"No, I mean I don't know if I want to date anyone. Right now, or at all. I know that sounds strange-"

"It doesn't, I understand completely!" Peter put a hand on Ellen's shoulder and squeezed excitedly. She had never seen a boy so excited to be rejected. "It's like, I know I should like people and if I was to like anyone it would be you, but I just don't, not in that way."

"Yeah, like the closest I've ever come is really liking hanging out with a girl, you know?"

"Exactly! But our friends aren't going to let us just not date. Remus and James have been campaigning for this for weeks."

"We'll just tell them neither of us want to date to focus on school. We are the ones who have to study the most. Plus, they're our friends so they'll understand, hopefully," Ellen grabbed Peter's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

~~~

Later that day, Dawn was lounging in the Gryffindor common room with James, Sirius, and Remus. Lily walked in to see her laid across the couch, legs draped over Remus's lap, head cradled delicately in James's.  Sirius sat in an armchair, one leg hanging over the leg, swinging in the air. The four were laughing raucously over something, Sirius had a proud smirk spread across his face. Obviously, it was his joke. Lily fumed and cleared her throat, causing the laughing to stop quite abruptly, though they all still held smiles.

"Dawn, could I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," Dawn laughed lightly. She stood and pecked James lightly, as she pulled away he pulled her in for a slightly deeper kiss.

"Are they always this disgusting?" Lily meant to think it, but it slipped out of her mouth before she could realize.

"Even more so without an audience," Remus scoffed, thinking back to when he and Peter walked in on the pair having a very intense belching contest. Dawn won, but Sirius came in and quickly stole her crown.

Lily sighed in a put-upon manner and led the other girl upstairs. Dawn wasn't smiling as brightly now, afraid she had actually upset Lily.

"What's up, lily bud?" At least the affectionate moniker got a small grin.

"What do you see in James?" Lily tried to soften the blow as best she could, but there was no nicer question she could muster.  

"I'm sorry?"

"You know what I mean, Dawn. He's always so loud and... mean," Lily sighed, realizing how awful she sounded, now that she was talking about her friend's boyfriend, not just a classmate.

"He's not always mean. You tend to see the worst in him, because, until recently, you've only ever seen him through the lens of Snape's best friend. Really, they're only mean to people who have given them a reason," Dawn defended her friends. She always felt strange, being caught in this limbo between being friends with Lily and the Marauders. 

"Look, just because I'm not friends with Severus anymore doesn't mean I feel differently about Potter or Black."

"That's not what I'm saying, Lily. I'm only saying now that you know why they are mean to people like Snape, maybe look at them like normal people, not villains."

Lily thought for a moment, studying Dawn's face.

"Okay. I'll try. For you though, not for anyone or anything else," she conceded.

"Thank you, Lily. That means a lot," Dawn smiled and pulled her friend into a tight hug. The door to the door opened and Marlene stepped in and joined the hug.

"What are we hugging about?" The girls laughed.

"Fresh starts," Dawn chuckled.

"Cute, confusing, but cute!" Marlene squeezed her friends tightly. "Anyway, Grace, Ellen, and Peter are downstairs and they're calling a family meeting."

Lily and Dawn gave short snorts of laughter at Marlene's phrasing before extracting themselves from the hug. The three made their way downstairs, finding the three from before still sitting with Grace now between James and Remus.  Dawn sat on James's lap, Marlene perched on the arm beside Sirius, and Lily leaned on the back of the couch, between Remus and Grace. 

"We have some things to tell you all," Ellen began. Everyone stirred slightly, excited by the prospect of the two getting together. "We know you all have nothing but good intentions, but we won't be dating, each other or anyone else, really. We don't want to, and we need to focus on school for the time being."

Peter nodded along to Ellen's words. The others' faces fell slightly. 

"But, you're still friends right?" Marlene asked.

"Of course, we just don't like each other beyond that. And no, we don't need anyone to set us up with other people. We just want to focus on school and friends, not romance or whatever," Peter answered. 

The seven others looked at each other guiltily, coming to a silent agreement, and Dawn stood to hug her friends.

"We're sorry if we pressured you guys, we just thought there was something that needed a push to start," she explained as she wrapped Peter and Ellen into her arms.

"And we love that you guys care that much, but we will start our own relationships if and when we want them, from now on. Alright?" Ellen pulled Dawn in closer.

"Alright," the others chorused, closing in for a giant group hug. Everyone hugged whoever was in their arms tightly.

"You're smothering us," Peter groaned breathlessly. 

Sirius barked with laughter, giving Dawn and Remus one last tight squeeze before retracting from the hug first. The rest of the group dispersed throughout their little area of the common room, naturally breaking into smaller conversations. Dawn ended up sat on the couch beside James, Sirius sitting in front of her and leaning against her legs. She absently started playing with his hair as she and James discussed their plans for the winter holidays.

"I'd like to have everyone 'round for the New Year, and then we can all go to the train together," James was always one to get everyone together during break. 

"That sounds nice. What do you think, Pads?" Dawn tugged lightly on Sirius's hair to grab his attention and he stifled a groan with a yawn.

"Sounds great, anything to get away from the house."

Dawn gave his head an extra affectionate rub, which he leaned into gratefully. Lily watched the exchange, chemistry obvious between the two. Hmmmm. This was something she'd have to keep a close eye on. She didn't  _like_  Potter, but she didn't want Dawn to damage any friendships in this tightly knit group for a romp with womanizer Sirius Black. Not that Lily thought she would, but Dawn was known for having a lot of physical needs.

~~~

Grace watched all of her friends carefully. James was happy to be cuddled up on the comfortable Gryffindor couches, Dawn and Sirius seemed just as happy where they were, but Lily was silently boiling in front of the fire. The girl could not hide her emotions unless she could find another emotion as a cover. Ellen sat with Lily, leaning away from the palpable anger and toward where Marlene sat in an armchair, happily chatting about an article about do it yourself makeup they read in Witch Weekly. Remus and Peter had sat close to the coffee table, playing a game of wizard's chess. Peter may not be the brightest of the Marauders but he was still sharper than most gave him credit for. For instance, he was crushing Remus, who had never really had the strategic mind for the game. Grace sighed softly and quietly stood to leave. She had some homework that needed doing, as she'd been a little distracted, reading about tracking charms. With the war coming to a head, she may need to know more about them to keep herself and her friends safe.  Remus looked up as he heard her move.

"Going to Ravenclaw tower?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've got some work to do. Also, I've got a couple of ideas brewing, we'll talk about them tomorrow though," she smiled and held his shoulder for a moment to say goodnight. 

He smiled back at her and squeezed her hand. They had attracted everyone else's attention, so Grace waved goodnight to everyone before leaving. All eyes turned to Remus once she was gone. 

"What?" he exclaimed, blushing vibrantly. 

They chuckled lightly, Lily momentarily forgetting about what was bothering her. Once the laughter died, however, she stood hurriedly and said her goodnights. Marlene, puzzled, gave Ellen a little squeeze, said good night, and followed the redhead. 

~~~

Upstairs, she found Lily thrown over her bed, glaring out of the window between her bed and Dawn's.  

"Lils, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just a little moody today is all," she grumbled.

"Lily.... You know better than to lie to one of your friends."

"It's not my place to say, I don't think."

Marlene studied her friend, the way she held her pillow tightly to her, the way she looked almost more hurt than angry. 

"Is this about Dawn and James?"

"No," she said too quickly. She sighed and nodded, conceding. 

"What about them?" Marlene asked gently.

"Don't take this to mean more than it does, Marlene, but I'm worried she's going to hurt him and by extension everyone else. You know he can't keep his bloody emotions to himself and he gets in such a sulk over such little things," Lily was almost growling.

"I know, Lily, but what makes you think Dawn would hurt him?"

"Did you not see her with Sirius!? She was petting him like a loyal dog or something!"

"Well, he is the dog star. But what does that matter, you know she touches everyone like that."

"I know but he enjoys it far too much!"

"Merlin's sake, Lily!! The boy is from a horrible family and you're going to disparage him some affection from his friends!" Marlene could not believe what was coming out of Lily's mouth. The normally caring girl was being a raging blast ended skrewt.

"Well, if Dawn doesn't want Potter why is she with him, always making a slag of herself?!?!?" Lily's scream rang through the room and down the stairs, through the open door. 

All that filled the room were Lily's desperate, angry breaths and the echo of a gasp. Marlene looked to the doorway to see Dawn frozen in the doorway, her face drained of color. Lily had sat up and as she caught Marlene's expression, she looked behind her, to Dawn's retreating back.

"Wait," Lily's voice came out in barely a whisper.


End file.
